LA Dodgers tie dubious MLB record

The Dodgers have been the walking wounded all year, and have tied a dubious MLB record.

Thanks to a recent injury to left-handed pitcher Scott Kazmir, the Los Angeles Dodgers have now tied an MLB record for most players to hit the disabled list in a single season. Kazmir is the 27th Dodger to be placed on the DL this season, with neck inflammation the culprit. Fellow starting pitcher Brett Anderson also joined Kazmir on the DL, but he had already spent most of the season there and so does not count towards the record.

Along with Anderson, the Dodgers have five players who have been on the DL twice this season. Hyun-jin Ryu, Brandon McCarthy, Scott Van Slyke and Josh Ravin have all been shut down twice. At the trade deadline, the Dodgers traded for Rich Hill of the Oakland A’s, and are still waiting for him to make his debut. Hill was dealing with a blister at the time of the trade, and will make his first start this week.

The Dodgers are currently tied with the 2012 Boston Red Sox with 27 individual players on the DL, but have over a month left in the season to break the record. The Dodgers are believed to have already broken one MLB record this season by beginning the year with 10 players on the DL. Official records for the disabled list stretch back only 30 years.

None of these injury troubles, including the loss of baseball’s best pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, seem to have hampered the Dodgers too much. They currently lead the San Francisco Giants by two games in the NL West and their offense has been on a tear in the second half. Rookie Corey Seager and Justin Turner have been leading the charge.

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The Dodgers have baseball’s highest payroll by a wide margin at $265.6 million. Of that quarter of a billion dollars, $110.3 million is on the disabled list. Only a third of the salary, $87.1 million is currently being spent on active players. With the freedom to spend wildly, as well as pay underperforming players like Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig to go away, the Dodgers have been able to build up enough depth, especially in their rotation, to shake off their injuries like a minor inconvenience.

The Dodgers will also get even more depth when Sept.1 arrives, bringing with it an expanded roster and minor-league reinforcements.

“We’re looking forward to Sept. 1, as everybody is,” manager Dave Roberts said before Tuesday’s win over the Giants. “With what we’ve been going through, it will be nice to get more numbers. But this is a big series, a big game, and we will have 25 active players tonight ready to win a baseball game.”

With 27 games to go in the regular season, the Dodgers have a very good chance at breaking an MLB record that no team actually wants to break. It’s a dubious mark, but the Dodgers should still skate into the playoffs as a dangerous team.

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